(SPOILERS)

Not just the instant-classic Dunkirk tracking shot but everything from the twins bouncing a ball, to Keira Knightley's green dress, to that quick look at James McAvoy through the fields popping with flowers, to all the underwater shots, etc. There were even a couple instances were thoughts of Orson Welles came to mind: Briony at the wedding, McAvoy at the theater, Knightley's death. Just these real dramatic angles coupled with a sublime sense of mise-en-scène. (The girl I saw it with was so caught up with the makeup too that we waited through the entire credits just to recognize those particular individuals.) Overall, the artistry was striking.

However, while I chose to like the majority of how the story was told and would recommend it in spite of the occasional slip-up, Wright did try too much to pull at the audience. For instance, some of the symbolism came off as rather obtuse: Briony and washing her hands, McAvoy talking of the British retreat but that they will soon come back. As far as manipulation, Soldier Who Looks Like Robbie was a cliché moment, and I'm not sure whether Briony's encounter with the dying French man was successful enough to forgive it for its contrivances (the line about the blood on her face there was another all-too-obvious touch). Then you have the repeated echo of "come back to me" (or whatever it was), which was cool once but seemed worn and tired the third time around. Plus, there's the whole Vanessa Redgrave I-never-went-to-the-apartment-just-joking interview ending that came close to being offensive. (Because of how she justified wanting to give the couple their final happiness and McAvoy's haunting final look, I ultimately bought into it. Still, I'm not sure if closing with a sit-down talk on TV, which is essentially the same kinda cheat as a voice-over, was the best way to handle things.)

Anyway, I know that above paragraph is gonna make it seem like I didn't like the film at all, but really I did. Again, visually, it's the most terrific thing I've seen all year (as far as English "wartime" films are concerned, all the bullshit praise heaped upon Children of Men should have been held for this one). Also, the opening scenes at the home leading up until the arrest are charming, daring, sensual, tragic, and though they too turn on a convenient plot twist (mistaken identity, the wrong letters), because there is enough development already in place to justify that any character motivations are not just some fluke, I can accept 'em without blinking. Conversely, the latter scenes may not be so tightly constructed, but still there is a strong, central relationship worth pursing and exemplary work by the leads (Knightley was so goddamned alluring early on and then broken later I'm ready to forgive her for her career so far; and McAvoy's outburst at the apartment was a great moment that made me realize how well he had crafted his man-without-a-home character). Most notably though, I'd have to champion Atonement's picture quality once more; it's consistently full of the richness, longing, despair, and simple beauty that at its best the story overall too achieves.


> But
>>also very heavy-handed and emotionally manipulative